The Grigori Gap, which runs through the largest mountain range in Rigal, the Tambor Mountains, is located at its thickest distance.
There is a legend among the people of the Otolo Empire on the other side of the mountain. It tells that the original clan was a persecuted wandering people from the far east of Rigar. When they fled westward, they lost their way at sea and entered the Nightmare Sea. They encountered a sea storm. The clan was dispersed and lost hundreds of people, but in despair they successfully landed in a "land of shining light".
And there is a huge divine wolf in that land, with the sky above its head, and its mouth speaks human words.
"This is the land that God has promised you. People who are outcast by suspicion, this is your refuge."
After that, the divine wolf lay down on the ground and turned into a huge mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles, isolating this wandering clan from the people who persecuted them, allowing them to continue to develop in isolation from the rest of the world in the rich and abundant west. Because of this legend, the word Tambur also means "great guardian" and "messenger of the kings of all realms" in the ancient Otolo dialect. ①
Of course, things like legends are usually believed or not, but if judged by Henry's level of knowledge, Otolo's legend does not have any authenticity.
The language of contemporary Otolo is largely different from the languages spoken on the West Coast, and is also very different from Lamani, the most widely spoken language on the mainland. The reason why these two areas are compared is because they both had the ability to cross the sea a long time ago - in other words, people on the west and east coasts are very likely to travel west by boat and discover Otto Luo's existence. ②
But the vast difference in language directly proves everything. In contrast, the pronunciation structure of some words in the Otolo language is quite similar to that of the southern steppe nomads.
Taking into account the characteristics of nomadic migration, historians have therefore inferred that the original Otolo people in ancient times were probably indeed an exiled people in the southeast of the Rigal continent - we are going too far.
Returning to the original point, if the folklore of Otolo is really followed, then the location of the Grigori Rift Valley should be regarded as the "hind legs" of the divine wolf.
Whether on the Otolo side or the Avenella side, this part of the Tambur Mountains is more prominent and rugged than other parts, which is why the Avenela side can easily approach the foot of the Tambur Mountains. Because of this, in other areas on the west coast you have to pass through dense and dangerous jungles before you can achieve this goal.
"call……"
In the Great Rift Valley where the sun cannot shine, the air temperature is much lower than outside, and the breath exhaled from the mouth turns into white mist.
The sky here is gray all year round. No matter how bright it is outside, the line of sky you can see through the dense moss and shrubs growing on the cliffs on both sides of hundreds of meters high will always be this color. .
"..." Mira stopped. The ground of the Grigli Cleft is quite spacious. Even the narrowest place is seven or eight meters wide. Therefore, when the road in Wawasika behind him was repaired, Avenella and Naturally, the businessmen of Otolo did not miss this God-given opportunity.
Even if the relationship between the two countries is tense and the swords are sharpening, profit-seeking businessmen will never be afraid - or on the contrary, they see business opportunities precisely because the storm is coming.
Carriages in twos and threes were walking in the Great Rift Valley that stretched out for a long distance. It was not surprising that there were three pack horses and a group of people carrying a lot of supplies in an open carriage.
Prince Edward's always luxurious clothes were replaced by ordinary linen clothes with a hood. Because he had participated in many knightly tournaments and performed very well, there were not many people who recognized the prince's face.
He did not carry any weapons. Instead, he and Ming Na pretended to be a young businessman couple. The remaining three guards also dressed up as accompanying businessmen. The only ones who did not cross-dress were Henry and Mira. Leather armor and chain armor, with weapons and blue mercenary badges hanging on them, walked at the front.
A breeze blew through the dark gap, and the cold air made many people shiver. Stubborn shrubs are densely packed on the high points of the rock walls on both sides, growing upwards to gain precious sunlight.
The survival instinct of living things can be detected anywhere as long as you observe carefully. Henry did not forget to explain to Mira behind him on the way forward, and the sage's calm and meticulous words as always attracted the attention of several other people in the team. .
Except for the two people he knew well, the other three were all knights of the guard under Edward.
The three of them are all still young, and one of them is the young knight who has met Henry several times and proposed an alliance with the elves last night. Henry now knew that his name was Edgar. Edgar Chester - as the name suggests, was the lord of the city ruled by Prince Edward - and he was probably appointed recently, because he Not yet wearing Chester's ivy.
This point involves the national nobility and honor system of Avenella. We will not delve into it for the time being, but focus on the present.
Edgar is obviously one of Edward's confidants to a large extent. Although he is still young and vigorous, he has a good thing, that is, he is not too conceited.
I think it may be because of Edward's influence. Although he had been interrupted twice by sages in front of everyone and denied his opinions, as long as Henry explained it clearly, the young knight would feel calm. Admit your mistakes.
This is something that most nobles cannot do, especially young nobles.
Because the education they have received since childhood has always told them that they are different, better, and 'born to dominate others'.
Nobles from various countries who emphasize that blood is everything usually have a level of pride in judging people by their nostrils. Even if they understand that what the other party is saying is the truth, they often refuse to admit it because of face problems. Sometimes it even goes so far as to use private soldiers to kill those who dare to speak with them. To the extent that ordinary people argued - and won -.
So under such circumstances, it is self-evident why Edward, a young nobleman with a humble and serious character, should take him with him.
Anyway, if there is any real danger, Henry will be there.
Several unknown names of sages are literally poured out of blood. Even though some things are quite vague because there are no actual written records, and many others have been forgotten by people because of the long history, but Edward It is very clear that this man's fighting ability cannot be measured by ordinary standards.
——If he gets serious.
The light gradually disappeared above the head. Night came earlier in the Grigori Cleft than elsewhere. The winding and twisted road had covered a long distance after a day. Looking back now, there was nothing but cliffs and sides. There is no view beyond the growing shrubs.
There were quite a few merchants nearby. Under the dim light, everyone stopped on the roadside and began to prepare dinner.
The torches prepared in advance were lit. There is no law inside the canyon. Guards will not come here to patrol. There are only a few dozen people on the entire journey, and everyone just stays with their traveling companions. Together, they remain wary of others.
Because you never know if that guy next to you who looks like a businessman might suddenly think it's a good idea to rob you.
Keeping a low profile and not exposing one's wealth is always the last word in any place. Piles of bonfires were lit and inserted into some previously dug holes in the canyon walls or on the ground. Although the official opening of trade was nothing more than It took more than a month, but before that, people often used this road.
Of course, the flow of people is sparser and less stable than it is now, but more or less, the Grigori Rift is like any other place inhabited by humans on the Rigar continent, and some stories have happened there.
The sound of gurgling water sounded on one side. At the bottom of the canyon to the right, a small ditch sunken into the cliff brought clear drinking water.
There are some traces of artificial excavations on the small ditch about half a meter wide. They are quite old, but travelers passing through Grigori's Gap still get water from here today.
"Ka Cang." There are not many usable resources inside the canyon, so even the wood for cooking and water had to be carried by herself. Mira set up the stove, while Ming Na took it from the carriage nearby. firewood.
The end of the tripod stove made of simple iron bars was firmly inserted into the thick soil ground. Then Mira struggled to lift the cauldron with both hands and hung it on the iron hook in the middle of the shelf.
Minna put the firewood next to it, then returned to the carriage and took out some dry Aika black pine needles from the waterproof leather bag above to use as kindling.
"Here." She handed Mira two very thick things. The girl held them and then stood up.
It was something with a handle, a flat iron block on one side, something that looked like a glove, and a huge black stone.
——The white-haired Luo An Loli is very familiar with what this is. Like the small flints used by adventurers, this is a larger but more convenient flint style commonly used by ordinary civilians on the West Coast.
A heavy iron block with a handle is held in one hand, while a flint block is held in the other hand, and is struck hard to cause sparks to ignite the kindling.
The principle is the same as the small flint used by adventurers, but it is simpler to use.
In fact, the girl who used to be a hotel maid often used this style of flint. Now she was holding it in her hand. I wonder if the many things in recent days had affected her thoughts. Mira turned around and saw To Henry who was handling the bacon he was carrying.
Unknowingly, was she so far away from her past life? She recalled many things along the way in her mind. She had new experiences almost every day, and she was no longer the same person as she was in the past. Completely different - Mira lowered her head and looked at the blue badge on her chest that was shining brightly under the afterglow of the setting sun that filtered through the gaps in the bushes above her head.
"Mira?" Ming Na's concerned voice sounded from the side. The girl turned her head and met the beautiful eyes of the blonde girl.
"It's nothing, I just remembered something." She smiled at her, and the latter touched the right side of her hair behind her ear with her fingers, then responded with the same expression, then squatted down and started to work with her. firewood.
"Crack--" Sparks splashed onto the pine needles that had been soaked in grease, and a flame suddenly burst out. Minna waited for it to become slightly larger, and then added small pieces of wood.
The undried firewood made a "crackling" sound, and the blonde girl then turned around, picked up a huge wooden spoon, and scooped a large spoonful of water towards the cauldron from the underground water outlet opened by the travelers in the past. Go. She turned her head and looked to the other side. Henry, who was using the carriage as a cutting platform, was concentrating on cutting the ingredients with the knife in his hand, while Edward and Edgar beside him were observing intently.
It was as if what the sage was processing with the knife was not tonight's food, but an incredible work of art.
"These guys." Ming Na, who seemed to have become more mature after experiencing the pain of losing her father, sighed helplessly and funny, and then walked towards Mira.
The smoke is curling up, and the road has just begun.
…
Note: ①: The original belief of Otolo is polytheistic like many places, but the biggest difference with the beliefs of other places that believe in animism is that there is a god king in the old god system of Otolo, named For the King of All Realms - the Supreme God Omad Ketz, who rules over all 'realms', just as its children, the Otolo, are destined to rule over all lands and seas.
Some historians and theologians believe that the concept of "angels" of the White Holy Religion was only proposed after they were assimilated with Otolo's native old god belief system, because Otolo's old god belief came from The image of the “messenger” of [Supreme God Omad Ketz] is everywhere. But there are also objections to this view, because long before the White Holy Religion became the state religion of Otolo, believers of the Yetina Sect, the primitive doctrine of the far East, had already painted angel patterns on the walls of the church.
②: In fact, the people on the mainland who have superb navigation skills include the Sijing pirates who live in the four northern islands. However, the reason why they are not used as a comparison object is that the heyday of the Sijing pirates’ expansion period was during the Otolo people. Five centuries after landing on the Western Continent—in other words, when the Otolo first discovered the continent, the Skeng people on the four northern islands did not yet exist.
